Biodiversity research leads to co-authored articles for students, professor

Evolution of a Biodiverse System

John LaPolla, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, describes ants as highly social creatures. “They have adapted for social living in a variety of ways to enable cooperation and connection with their community,” he explains. “We can learn so much by studying the evolution of a system. For example, how Acropyga ants and other species, such as mealy bugs, have adapted for life together.” 

“ I care deeply about producing science-literate students regardless of their eventual career paths. ”

LaPolla has advised 10 master’s degree students and mentored more than 20 undergraduate research students in his lab. “I aim to link all my science to field studies where real, live insects can be observed in a natural setting,” says LaPolla, who is also a research associate at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “My students and I frequently travel to locations around the world to conduct ant surveys.”

From Research to Publication

His courses give students full exposure to the process of taxonomy in a very different way than traditional course content. “Students get to see the excitement as well as the monotony of this type of research while learning about biodiversity conservation, climate change, and endangered species,” says LaPolla. 

He has published some 50 peer-reviewed articles on his research, several of them with students as co-authors, and has received research funding from various sources, including the National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society. 

“This is an incredibly rich planet with thousands, probably millions, of undiscovered new species,” says LaPolla. “As citizens of the planet, we should be concerned with preserving biodiversity and be its stewards.” 

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